Oh no, Apple is trademarking the iPhone app icons

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The Mail app icon - patented!

Apple is seeking to legally protect the familiar iPhone app icons. If the company has it their way, those yummy iChocolates, app fridge magnets, and other TWLTOs (Toys We’de Like To Own) inspired by iPhone apps could become a thing of the past.

According to Patently Apple, the US Patent & Trademark Office has published yesterday Apple’s latest trademark application for the Mail app icon. Other bloggers, however, are reporting that the Mail icon is part of a series of trademark filings related to the entire iPhone OS icon set.

The Mail icon has officially become Apple’s ownership registered under the U.S. Registration Number 3470983. The app icon filing is classed as International Class 009 and describes “Computer software for composing, sending, searching, organizing, and reading electronic mail.”

The accompanying documentation includes a huge bitmap of the Mail app icon in 944×944 pixels and a mockup demonstrating possible icon uses, including a screenshot of the iPhone section on Apple’s homepage where the Mail icon is being used. The document also provides the description of the mark and a set of claimed colors:

The mark consists of a rectangle with rounded corners depicting a stylized white envelope over a blue sky with white clouds. The colors blue and white are claimed as a feature of the trademark.

Apple is known to threaten developers who dare incorporate app icon images inside their apps and often demands that Apple-trademarked terms be removed from app names. For example, Apple temporarily removed the ContactPad app from the App Store due to the use of the “Pad” term. The developer behind the iPodRip app was forced to rename the program following a letter of complaint from Cupertino’s legal team which pointed out that the app was using Apple’s “iPod” term. You can find out more in the official list of Apple’s trademarks and usage guidelines.